Instagram is a visual platform which thrives on beautiful imagery, creative and snappy text, and now, interactive video. Because of this, more often then not, many people neglect the importance of creating a captivating Instagram bio and jump right into image sharing. I am here to deter you from jumping head first and to take a few minutes to create an attention grabbing bio.

As one of the leading visually appealing social media platforms, Instagram gives people only seconds to captivate their audience and get them to click that lovely follow button. Outside of just the images that you share, the great captions for each of those images, the hashtags, the call to actions, the foundation of your Instagram account is your Instagram bio. In today's blog post I will be discussing the 5 must haves in creating a captivating Instagram bio.

1. PROFILE IMAGE: The first thing you want to do is understand Instagram is a social media platform and because of this you need to figure out how to maintain the social in the marketing. The first recommendation is forget that logo and use a profile picture. Let people know who you are and what you look like. For those of us who have large brands or have several employees think about incorporating faces for the bio photo.

Urban Decay uses a picture of a woman wearing Urban Decay Cosmetics. The image is extremely captivating and makes people feel that they are part of the brand. It makes potential customers believe that they can achieve this look.

Michael Kors also uses his image rather than the logo. Once again, this tactic humanizes the brand.

2. SSS - Short. Sweet. Simple. This is how you want to draft the copy for your bio. Instagram only gives you 150 characters to convey your message. Make sure you answer the following questions in less than 150 characters:

who are you?

what do you do?

how do you do it?

At first these questions seem simple until you recognize the challenge in getting all that information in a short concise message. Some examples of concise messaging can be found below -->

Kendra uses a warm and inviting picture as well as writes a Her service is very clear and her message does not leave anything to the imagination.

Coach Dani Faust, manages not only to tell you what she does and what she will be sharing on her page, she let’s you know where else she can be found - BRILLIANT!

3. FUN = PERSONALITY: Inline with keeping your description SSS it's important to add some personality to it. Don't just tell people your business, but give them a taste of Who You Are. People have a way of incorporating their kids, their spouse’s, their pets’, and even their hobbies into their bios, which adds an extra-flare to the person’s bio. Take a moment to incorporate your personality and your unique selling proposition into your bio.

ByRegina always uses her ninja skills when teaching people how to grow their businesses!

I have followed Luvvie for years, and her knack for words is second to none, and her side-eye….well, that one you will have to find out about yourself :-)

4. Emojis Rock: Emojis are vital when it comes to Instagram. Emojis in your profile help you stand out. Try to figure out which kind of emojis you could incorporate into your bio. Below are examples of people who use emojis really well in their bio.

TwigyPosts uses emojis in her profile name! This is one of my favorite uses of emojis!

In my profile, I use a cup of coffee, an android device, and a laptop, all for fun and to easily convey a message.

5. WEBSITE: Now this last one seems self-explanatory but it really isn't. Instagram automatically gives you one link to share with people. Most people use this to share their website URL but I challenge you to do something a little bit different. Use this URL to drive people to where you want them to go. The URL section can be changed as often as you like. Here are two examples strategies for using this section of Instagram.

The first strategy is to create a landing page for people who found you via Instagram. This gives users a unique experience when coming to your website and gives you the opportunity to capture their information for further nurturing or communication.

The second strategy is simply to drive people to a shop, your blog, or an offer. Remember to change this URL whenever you have a new product you are marketing.

BONUS -

Two additional things you can do to enhance your Instagram bio is to include keywords and hashtags in your bio. This just makes it easier for people to find you when they are searching for your product or service within Instagram.

Will you make any adjustments to your Instagram profile after reading this? Are you confused about what you need to do on Instagram? Let's chat, better yet, think about an Instagram Audit.